


Warm Hearths and Warm Hearts

by GrimLegate



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Cold Weather, Cuddling & Snuggling, Exhaustion, Fluff, Haurchefant Takes Care of WoL, M/M, Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 10:45:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20095996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimLegate/pseuds/GrimLegate
Summary: The Warrior tries to settle but for a moment before heading back off to brave the wilds. Haurchefant decides otherwise when the other nearly faints upon his doorstep.





	Warm Hearths and Warm Hearts

For once, it seemed, the vicious weather that usually gripped the surrounding area had died down from its usual bluster. The wind did not pound against the walls, throwing up curtains of white frost and harrying the world with its screaming gale. Instead, snow drifted slowly to the earth, falling light and airy upon the ground outside. It wasn’t as though the storms bothered him anymore, on the contrary, he quite liked the sound. But in the gentle repose that the quiet twilight offered, he could hear the faintest breathing of the other denizen of his domain.

He glanced over to the form, curled up in another chair he had pulled close to the hearth. The mug that decidedly belonged to the other still held some of the cocoa he had made for the other after his appearance, though it had long since grown cold. He could still hear the man complaining over being fussed over, pointedly explaining that he didn’t need to be placed in front of the fire. He was glad he insisted, for the simple fact that he could see how relaxed the other had become.

The furry tips of his ears had slumped nearer against his head, and his head had fallen to rest against his chest, jostled ever so slightly by the deep rise and fall of his chest. Haurchefant smiled, taking a moments reprieve from the paperwork that he had steadily been chipping away at. He glanced to the lit candle that sat upon his desk, coating everything that the hearth couldn’t reach in a warm, golden glow. It was nearly burnt out at this point, forcing a sigh from the man’s lips.

He had just lit it, when the sound of a door forcing its way open against the wind creaked, and he rose his head to peak at their guest. He was ready to spout his normal rhetoric, welcoming an adventurer in and offering them a warm drink for their trouble. Instead, the miqo’te had nearly fallen off of his feet, the other desperately lunging to keep the Warrior from cracking his head against the stone. He thought the other was run down when he had first met him, stumbling through the doors in the middle of a blizzard, barely taking the time to breathe before he set out on his next mission. This time?

It had terrified him.

The Warrior had fainted for all but a few moments, finally coming to consciousness and realizing what had happened, trying to push himself up to stand on his own feet. _Just need a moment, then I’ll be fine._ He had gripped the other’s arms, keeping him planted exactly where he was, with a firm admonishment and the fact that he wasn’t letting the other go _anywhere_ in such a state. Of course, he argued, something about someone, somewhere, needing _something, _something unimportant, in the grand scheme of things.

_“I came here for help, not to be coddled.”_

_ “Then help you shall receive, but you are in no state to go anywhere!”_

The argument had finally been settled when the Warrior couldn’t reliably tell Haurchefant the last time that he had slept, nor _where_ it had been. He had tried to skate by the other’s scrutiny by insisting that he took naps on the back of his chocobo, but that only seemed to raise the other’s ire more.

And so here they were.

The toll of tenth bell reached his ears, and even in the other’s sleep he could see that his own set perked up at the unfamiliar sound. Of course, he lived constantly on the roads between civilization, even more so than usual as of late. Such a thing was the reason that the two of them found themselves in this predicament. He had forgotten how stubborn the other could be. Willful, was probably a better word, to describe the man before him. After all, it wasn’t as though the other was simply inflexible. No, he knew the other to bend easily when the matter suited him, but in matters of principle, there was little that could shake him.

The elezen started for a moment, realizing with a hint of embarrassment tinting his cheeks that he had been none-too subtly mooning over the other. He supposed he should be glad about the fact that no one had caught his staring, not even the subject in question. He wondered if it was wrong, to gaze at the other in such a fashion, when he was at his most vulnerable. It wasn’t as though he was having lascivious thoughts, they were wholly innocent in nature.

Of course, the other had been an object of his fascination for quite some time now, and it had only been recently that he found himself thinking of the other more and more. He got to see the other with more and more frequency, and maybe that was the reason that the other seemed to plague his thoughts day-in and day-out. His eyes lidded as he gave a heaving sigh, pressing his chin into his hands as he stared past the other, and into the tongues of flame that leapt in the hearth.

He consciously ignored the remaining stacks of paper on the desk, knowing that the ones requiring his attention at once had been swiftly taken care of when the other had first bunkered down in the chair. Speaking of… his own chair had begun to grow uncomfortable, especially when he had been sat there for the last several hours. He couldn’t imagine how the other could sleep in such a state, curled up and cramped. Though, if he truly had slept on the back of his chocobo, he honestly couldn’t be surprised.

The man stood, wincing at the sounds of his back popping as he did, making a mental note to stretch more often while he was in the middle of paperwork. He quietly made his way over to the miqo’te, resting his hand on the back of the chair as he leaned over. Whatever words he had planned to rouse the other with died upon his lips, his breath taken by the other as Haurchefant gazed upon the other’s sleeping form. The dark stripes of his people framed the bruised bags that had collected under his eyes, accentuating and worsening their appearance.

But even despite the other’s sorry appearance, the man felt his chest bloom with warmth.

The smattering of freckles across his cheekbones marked uncharted constellations across his face, crossing over his nose, where the lavender markings covered the gentle slope of his nose. He remembers when the other had jokingly called his nose a ‘beak’, to which the knight had entertained him by making squawking noises in return. It had been merely a jest, no hard feelings being felt, but the other still had wrapped up the teasing with an honest, ‘it suits a handsome face such as yours.’

His eyes trailed to the small scar that lanced up from his jaw. It was a constant reminder of the other’s occupation, despite the sweet visage he seemed to have. It unnerved him, when he saw the scars that the other bore. He did not wield a shield in battle, and there was no one with him more often than not that would raise one in his defense. He was want to cup the other’s face, rubbing a thumb over the wound, wishing that he could always protect the other from harm.

But their lives were vastly different, and Haurchefant could only wait for the other to return, to soothe his pains, and give him comfort.

And such was the comfort in which he bathed. He hadn’t understood how the other could remain all curled up in the chair, but with the warmth emanating from the hearth, and the added benefit of a blanket from Haurchefant’s personal stash?

He wasn’t surprised the other was as comfortable as he was.

He still longed to brush his hand against the other’s face, but it wasn’t his place. The other was not his, nor anyone’s. So, he settled on rousing the other with his voice.

“Rhitaas? Come now, I know you are content here, but I must insist you migrate to a proper place to rest.” The lilac shimmer behind his eyes was dulled by the veil of sleep. The normally slitted pupils that he was accustomed to seeing were blown wide, nearly blotting out his iris. The noise the other made came out as unintelligible, and the knight couldn’t help but chuckle at the other’s pitiful state. His hand gently jostled the other’s shoulder, and Rhitaas let out a sharp whine at the other disturbing him.

“Will it be up to me to relocate you? I will carry you, if I must.” He moved to the front of the chair, facing the other fully as he was still trying to shake off the weariness that moved to cling to him to desperately. The Warrior’s eyes settled on him for a moment, and he was about to quip another cheeky comment about the other, until he suddenly found himself with an armful of the other. The arms wrapped around his neck belied the strength he carried so naturally under the thin appearance.

His face painted a delicate shade of blush, Haurchefant stammered a bit, looking to the other, who had saw fit to bury his face into the other’s neck. He felt the other’s sharp sigh against his skin, the puff of breath tickling the other, while he wondered simply what had gotten into him? Rhitaas was touchy by nature, squeezing shoulders and never straying from another’s innocuous touch. But to launch a cuddly assault the moment he had awoken was something entirely different.

“Warm…” He heard the other murmur, and he had to force down the fluttering that had slowly been creeping through his chest at the closeness of the other. He patted the man’s back, before gathering him up into the knight’s arms. He had offered up his own quarters before, and he was sure that the other would be far more comfortable with such an arrangement, especially if he was seeking out warmth.

The trip was blessedly quick, the way completely devoid of anyone who would have seen. He did not care one whit for his own reputation, but he didn’t want for the others to suffer in some regard. He relaxed one they had passed the threshold into his chambers, blessing Halone herself that the fire had remained stoked in his room.

After all – nothing was worse than coming back to a cold, dreary room.

Maneuvering the other took little effort, settling Rhitaas onto a section of the bed while he pulled back the covers. Thankfully, the other was not clad in something so convoluted to sleep in as armor, favoring the cloth instead this time around. But, as he was moving the covers over the other, he could feel the steady sensation against the back of his neck, shouting as the other pulled him down onto the bed as well.

The sleepy miqo’te wasted no time with sidling up to the other in his sleep, arms trailing over to find a suitable spot while his tail curled around the other. He could feel the brush of the other’s breath against the skin of his neck, before a feather-soft, barely there, peppering of kisses sluggishly trailed down his shoulder, before the other finally settled. He could barely register the sound of purring through the pounding of blood in his ears, the heated feeling spreading over and through his face and neck. Even the tips of his ears burned, and he remained stiff in the others grasp as he tried to fully comprehend what was going on.

It was finally the steady rhythm of the purr that drew him out of his flustered thoughts, melting at the sound.

He remembered hearing it for the first time. When the other had returned from fighting off Shiva, and Haurchefant could not contain himself as he lunged for the other, drawing him up into a ferocious hug. He had been so concerned for the other, so worried, and yet he still lavished praise upon the other, neatly lifting him off of his feet. It was then that he had heard the sound rolling through the other’s chest, while he smiled at the man’s infectious attitude.

Rhitaas had to explain it later, of course, the knight thinking of it as just another fascinating thing to add on to the list. And now, the sound felt as though it traveled through him, starting at every point that the two touched. It was calming, and the more he listened, the more and more he felt inclined to stay – not that he didn’t in the first place.

The other barely stirred, as Haurchefant shuffled into his own form of comfort, tugging the other close with an arm, until they slotted against one another in the most pleasing of ways. He marveled at how well they fit together, and some, hopelessly romantic part of him whispered sweet thoughts to him, and he wondered:

Was it far-fetched to say, that he was willing to spend the rest of his life with the other?

**Author's Note:**

> (I'm in FFXIV hell right now, especially having started Heavensward. Esp because I know what happens ;v;) Please check out some of my other works if you enjoyed this one, and check out my Twitter and Tumblr! Handle: GrimLegate


End file.
